Welcome to the December GOT COPY? e-newsletter!

First, a gracious THANK YOU to ClickZ.com's Creative Strategist, Peter Kaufman. In his November 16 column, he selected GOT COPY? as one of his top seven e-newsletters! See Peter's other favorites (and previous columns). (Visit www.stickyideas.com, his site for creative ideas.)

Second, I wish everyone a happy, peaceful holiday and a rewarding new year.

Enjoy your day,
~ Stevie Ann Rinehart, Independent Copywriter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GOT COPY? - Issue 2 - December 2001

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IN THIS ISSUE:
(1) AT ISSUE: Are There Differences Between Print and Online Copywriting?
(2) MARKETING/WRITING TIP: Beating a Dead Horse with Clichés
(3) RECOMMENDED WEB SITE: KnowThis.com
(4) UPCOMING ISSUE
(5) NECESSARY BLURBS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1) AT ISSUE: Are There Differences Between Print and Online Copywriting?
Some communications and marketing experts argue that writers shouldn't change the way they write when switching between print and online. As long as the copy gets the job done, then great.

But there are some differences. It's these differences that are intriguing because they're more likely to inspire copywriters to hone their writing, break convention, and be more creative. It can also throw us writers in a tizzy if we try to "overthink" the process of writing online. We can thank the Internet for making this happen because it is so new and constantly evolving as a common communication medium.

The Internet has increased our sense of urgency to have more information NOW. It has shortened our attention span and patience. That puts a lot of pressure on us writers. We have a shorter timeframe in which to grab readers' attention, maintain their interest, and convey the information necessary to get them to act on it. This has prompted some changes in the way we write for the Internet. The three most challenging are copy length, tone, and targeting.

(A) COPY LENGTH
For years, copywriting experts have shown that long copy in print makes the sale. The nearer you get to closing the sale, the longer your copy should be to provide the necessary, persuasive information... especially if it's for a high-end product or service.

The same applies online. If your copy is persuasive enough, readers will scroll or click to continue on, particularly if it's value-laden material like case studies, white papers, articles, or technical information. But if you're concerned about lengthy text potentially scaring off readers, costing a sale, or causing eye strain, try these ideas to get longer copy read online:

~~ Link to a printer-friendly version (like Portable Document Format (PDF) - available through Adobe®).
~~ Break it up into pages that are one screen view each (tip: provide a page count).
~~ Use bullets to organize large chunks of information.
~~ Include just the lead paragraph or a summary of each topic with a link to the rest of the information.
~~ Pose a question, break in mid-sentence, or continue a numbered list so they're compelled to read on.

(B) TONE
The Internet has allowed companies to speak in a more personal way to its customers. It has also inspired a more casual approach to copywriting for this medium than is usually seen in print. Some might call it laziness or sloppiness. Then again, a different perspective might be that print is too stuffy. In any case, by "casual" I don't mean conversational, but rather careless. Conversational is how marketing should be - maintaining a one-on-one dialogue (even if somewhat virtual) with customers - instead of a monologue about the company.

What might be causing this casualness? It could be that non-writers are being tasked with writing online copy because decision-makers think "anyone" can write copy. Or maybe it's the fact that anyone can have their own site or e-newsletter for very little money thereby making it seem that it has little value or uniqueness. Or it could be as simple as people or companies being more concerned with the ease and speed of communicating and content posting than with thoroughness and accuracy.

(C) TARGETING
In print you can control your message according to your targeted audience. You create advertisements that appear in select trade magazines, for example. Or you compose a brochure that will be distributed only to qualified prospects. Or you may write a direct mail letter to potential customers who fit your demographic criteria.

The Internet, however, is an open medium. Anyone can access your site and your information even if they're not potential customers. So how do you write for such a broad readership? Don't. Write for your audience, not for the masses (unless you have products like those offered on Amazon.com that appeal to a very broad range of people). Perhaps the only ways to select who sees your Web site, for example, are to provide links that appeal to different segments or have a password-protected link reserved for your established customers or clients.

Despite all that's written on the subject (there's a lot out there), we can't overlook the fact that, ultimately, good copy is just that - good copy. How you approach it is up to you, but I encourage you to seek other opinions.

Ask yourself this question: Do you write differently online than for print simply because it's the Internet or because you're making full use of the Internet's unique capabilities? That may be the true difference....

Back to top...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(2) MARKETING/WRITING TIP: Beating a Dead Horse with Clichés
With so much marketing collateral in circulation, not to mention the information posted on corporate Web sites, it's not surprising that at some point, the wording just isn't going to sound "fresh."

Quips and trite observations are easy fallbacks when we don't know how else to say something. Yes, it can be difficult to say it in a different way without being more verbose, or being accused of "talking around the issue." But, being original for originality's sake in your marketing writing isn't going to impress anyone - least of all your customers, who are becoming much more discerning as more companies begin to sound alike.

So how do you avoid using clichés like "par for the course" or " make it plain and clear" when they're so ingrained in our everyday language? Here are a few tips:

First, after proofreading your copy for spelling and grammar, take a long break, and then reread it for content. This is key. I recently wrote a brochure draft for a client. She told me that while the copy overall was just about right, she found several clichés that weakened it a bit. I was rather embarrassed. (That incident inspired this Marketing/Writing Tip.) Have someone who is not associated with the project read it and check for these (if you've signed a nondisclosure agreement - ask a project team member).

Second, imagine you are writing for an audience who doesn't speak your language as their first language. Why? Because it forces you to explain things that don't rely on local colloquialisms, turns of phrase, or cultural references they otherwise wouldn't understand. With the Internet further lowering our geographic barriers each day, it's increasingly important to think in these terms.

Third, if you're unsure of whether or not a phrase is a cliché rather than an industry or society "buzzphrase," check online resources like these to find out:
~~ Westegg.com
~~ Clichesite.com

When I perused the above links, I was amazed at the number of phrases that are considered "cliché." It may be impossible to eliminate every trite expression from our repertoire, but if we're more aware of them, they'll be easier to avoid. And that can only improve our writing.

Back to top...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(3) RECOMMENDED WEB SITE: KnowThis.com
Want to know the definition of "interstitial?" How about what CRM stands for? What about finding links to biotech market research? Go to KnowThis.com, a virtual clearinghouse of marketing information. Find definitions, articles, how-to's, links, marketing plans... anything and everything you need that relates to marketing (which ultimately helps your writing).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(4) UPCOMING ISSUE: January 2002
~~ At Issue: Hiring (and Getting Hired As) a Copywriter
~~ Marketing/Writing Tip: Making Your Signature Work

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(5) NECESSARY BLURBS
Promote viral marketing! Just copy and paste the above URL into an email message and forward to a colleague. Feel free to CC me as well. (I don't give out e-addresses.)

Questions? Comments? Kudos? Call 602.391.9536 or click Feedback.

Subscribe       |      Unsubscribe       |       Change Address
(Include the email address to add, remove, or change.)

Thank you for reading!


Back to top...